"I wish I actually had known what the heck sex was:" What adolescent sexual minority males knew and wish they knew prior to sexual debut with a male partner.

Abstract

Understanding the sexual health needs of adolescent sexual minority males (ASMM) at the time of sexual debut will inform programs seeking to decrease sexual health inequities experienced by ASMM. In 2020, sexually active, cisgender ASMM (n=102, age 14-17) in the United States completed the baseline assessment of an online sexual health intervention pilot trial. Participants responded to closed- and open-ended questions about their sexual debut with a male partner, including sexual behavior, skills and knowledge they knew and wish they knew at the time of their debut, and sources of said skills and knowledge. On average, participants were 14.5 years old (SD=1.4) at their debut. Participants reported knowing how to say no to sex (80%) and wishing they knew how to talk with partners about what they would (50%) and would not (52%) like to do sexually. Open-ended responses indicated that participants desired sexual communication skills at sexual debut. Personal research (67%) was the most common knowledge source prior to debut, and open-ended responses suggest that Google, pornography, and social media were the most frequently used websites and phone applications to find information about sex. Results suggest sexual health programs for ASMM should occur prior to sexual debut, teach sexual communication skills, and teach media literacy skills to help youth deduce credible sexual health resources. Incorporating the sexual health needs and wants of ASMM into sexual health programs will likely improve acceptability and efficacy, and ultimately decrease sexual health inequities experienced by ASMM.